Heat applicator device



NOV. 25, 1952 E. A, BURGER 2,619,575

HEAT APPLI CATOR DEVICE Filed April 26. 1950 2 SHEET SSHEET l E. A. K. BURGER HEAT APPLICATOR DEVICE Nov. 25, 1952 Filed April 26 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Patented Nov. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and novel mending iron for use in the finishing of fine knitted fabrics and the like and more particularly nylon hosiery requiring refinishing after mending due to what is commonly referred to in the industry as a pull thread.

As is well known to those familiar with the art of hosiery manufacture, great care must be exercised in the handling of the product as it progresses from the knitting stage through to the final finishing and packaging. With the present trend toward sheer fabrics necessitating the use of lighter weight yarns such as those in the range of ten to fifteen denier, the number of irregulars or seconds resulting from pull threads has accordingly increased. Until recent years, these irregulars or seconds, so called, were lost to .the manufacturer, but today, with the increase in the number of rejects attendant the normal production of the sheerer fabric, it is necessary to mend and salvage them as a measure of simple economy.

There are various methods by which a hose having a pull thread may be mended, i. e. the drawn stitches in the fabric made to assume their originally knitted relationship to each other, thereby eliminating the pull and restoring the said fabric to an appearance of overall stitch uniformity. The various methods practiced are well known in the art and have for the most part been proven commercially satisfactory.

However, very little attention has been given the finishing of the mended area. By this, I mean, in order that the fabric be restored to a first quality product, it must have the mark resulting from the pull thread or threads completely obliterated, and the surface of that involved area of the hose restored to .the same finished appearance as any other part thereof. As will be understood, an irregular or second stocking will come to the mending room only after having been through the process of finishing. Consequently, in rearranging the stitches to eliminate the pull, the yarn is disturbed from the position in which it was originally set when finished and must be refinished in order to preserve the texture of the fabric. One method of accomplishing this employs a sizing compound in liquid form applied to the affected area by a sponge or suitable applicator, after which the fabric is ironed or pressed to obtain the desired finish.

The present invention is directed particularly to the refinishing of mended fabric. I have found that if the rate of heat transfer between iron and fabric is correct and is maintained properly,

it is possible to refinish the fabric without sizing, eliminating the need for the sizing step entirely.

Therefore, the primary object of this invention is .to provide a novel mending iron for use in the refinishing process described above having the capacity to operate in a controlled heat range.

Another object of the invention is to provide suitable means for determining and selecting the proper heat range by the denier number of the yarn comprising the fabric.

Still another object is the elimination of the liquid sizing compound as a necessary part of the refinishing process by exercisin the proper heat control referred to above.

A further object is to provide a mending iron having a novel working head so designed that proper application to the Work is assured regardless of the manner in which the work may be supported.

A still further object is the provision of means to cool the stem adjacent the handle to reduce heat transfer thereto to a minimum.

With these and other objects in mind, reference is now made to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the heat applicator and its manner of use;

Fig. 2 is an elevation view of the applicator;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section on the line 33, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line 4-4, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 55, Fig. 3 and;

t Fig. 6 shows a modified form of heat applica- With particular reference to Fig. 2, numeral (0 designates a heat applicator tool constructed according to the present invention, having a heat transfer head II, a cylindrical stem-like portion l2 and a handle member [3.

The head I I is substantially cylindrical in configuration about the longitudinal axis of the tool providing a smooth ironing surface M which terminates at one end in a flat surface [6 which under certain conditions of use may also be used as a supplemental ironing surface. From the opposite end I! extends a tubular portion l8 (see Fig. 3) forming an elongate recess l9 to receive an electrical heating element 20. This element 20 is of a suitable commercial type and fits snugly into the recess l9 as shown, thereby insuring a maximum transfer to the head ll of the heat given up by the heater.

A hollow adapter member 2| carried in the handle l3 has a reduced end portion 22 which receives the heater-head sub-assembly 11-28, and is secured thereto by means of a set-screw 23. End 22 of adapter 2! is also internally bevelled as at 25, said bevel registering with and abutting the complementary bevelled lower end of the element 20, whereby the said element is positioned and firmly retained within the head member. Adapter 21 also provides an axial passage 25 aligned with a like passage 26 in the handle H3. The cur-rent supply conductors 21 extend through these passages to element 253.

The body portion 23 of the adapter is cylindrical in section and adjoins a socket portion 29, hexagonal in cross section, fitted securely in the handle [3. The handle is press-fitted internally with a bushing 30 and externally carries a ferrule 3|. A set-screw 32 threadedly engaged in the bushing 30 impinges against the socket portion 29 of the adapter and secures the same rigidly in the handle. By reason of its hexagonal section, the socket portion 29 of the adaptor has only point-contact with the anchoring bushing 39 thereby reducing to a minim-um the possibility of heat transfer between adapter 2! and the handle it.

To further retard any heat transfer and to cool the stem portion 12 a plurality of transverse apertures 33, 33 are provided in the adapter immediately adjacent the terminal end of the handle and provide air-circulatory passages communicating with the interior of the adapter.

An outer sleeve 3 3, which protectively embraces an asbestos heat insulating liner 35, also has a series of openings 35, 35 which together with the openings 33, 33 permit unobstructed passage of air interiorly of the stem $2 for cooling purposes.

The sleeve 35 is also bevelled at 31 adjacent the end I! of the head H so that knife-edge contact only circumferentially of the sleeve is permitted, and heat transfer between the head and sleeve reduced to a minimum.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings, the manner of using the heat applicator is clearly demonstrated. In the instant illustration, the operator is shown with one hand firmly holding a stocking 38 stretched over an open ended cuplike element 39 and the other holding the heat applicator in a position of use. That part of the fabric containing the pull-thread is, of course, presumed to be within the area bounded by the circumferential edge of the cup and hence, due to the stretched condition of the fabric, lies in a plane normal to its top edge. Under such conditions the operator may by any of the several devices used in the practice of the art re-arrange the misaligned and/or gathered stitches and by dexterous manipulation of the threads thereby return the fabric to a condition approximating a normal appearance; that is, insofar as stitch structure itself is concerned. This part of the mending step is, of course, a preliminary to the final finishing which is performed solely by the applicator.

In the drawing, the applicator is shown about to be applied to the fabric surface. The heat control rheostat dc, which is connected in series with the heating element and controls the current therethr-ough, has been predeterminedly set by the operator for providing precisely the correct amount of heat required to perform the finishing, consideration having been given to the size of the thread comprising the fabric and whether or not it is a single or multifilament thread.

By turning the wrist slightly, the applicator head is imparted a sweep-like motion causing it to pass lightly over the surface of the fabric. In this fashion, the mark referred to earlier is spot finished and, 'in most cases, with just a single pass of the instrument. The particular shape of the head makes the applicator ready for instant use on picking up and, in cases where larger areas of the fabric are involved, it may be turned on end to provide larger ironing surface with which to expedite the finishing job.

Instead of having numbers to give current output indications, the rheostat may carry an indlcia plate having related denier numbers, suitable calibration being made and likewise indicated, however, for use in instances where yarn being treated is comprised of a multi-filament thread or a material other than nylon or of a yarn of mixed fibers.

Fig. 6 shows a modified form of heat applicator, particularly adapted to certain special operating conditions and is characterized primarily by an elongated head member Ha rounded at the applicator end thereof and having its opposite end seated in the handle [3a and secured by set screw 32a. The adapter 21a. also extends into the handle and is secured by the same set screw. Apertures El are provided in member Ha to admit air to the space between said member and the adapter. Heat insulation material 42, such as abest-os, is provided between the end of the adapter and the heating element 29a.

It is to be understood, of course, that the illustrated embodiments are exemplary and are not intended to limit the invention. It will. be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other embodiments of the invention are possible without departure from the scope thereof.

I claim:

1. A heat applicator device for use in the mending of finely knit fabric, comprising an elongate hollow member having a heat applicator head at one end formed to provide a smooth surface for contact with a local area of the fabric, an electrical heating unit in the form of a cartridge of shorter length than said hollow member disposed Within said hollow member in intimate heat-transfer relation with said head, a second hollow member extending within said first member to retain said heating unit, said second member having a shoulder to seat the end of said first member, means securing said members together, a handle secured to said second hollow member and having an axial bore, current supply conductors extending through said handle and said second hollow member to said heating unit, said second hollow member having openings therein adjacent said handle for passage of air to cool said second member and prevent transfer of heat to the handle, a heat-insulating jacket surrounding said members, and a protective sleeve surrounding said jacket and having openings aligned with the first mentioned openings.

2. A heat applicator device for use in the mending of finely knit fabric, comprising an elongate hollow member having a heat applicator head at one end formed to provide a smooth surface for contact with a local area of the fabric, an electrical heating unit in the form of a cartridge of shorter length than said hollow member disposed within said hollow member in intimate heat-transfer relation with said head, a second hollow member extending within said first member to retain said heating unit, a handle having an end socket seating the ends of said members and also having an axial bore, the end portion of said second member within said handle being snugly embraced by said first member, said members being constructed beyond said handle to provide an air space about said second member Within said first member and between the heating unit and said handle, said first member having openings to admit air to said space, means securing said members in the end socket of said handle, and current supply conductors extending through said handle and said second hollow member to said heating unit.

3. A heat applicator device for use in the mending of finely knit fabric, comprising an elongate hollow member having a heat applicator head at one end formed to provide a smooth surface for contact with a local area of the fabric, an electrical heating unit in the form of a cartridge of shorter length than said hollow member disposed within said hollow member in intimate heat-transfer relation with said head, a second hollow member extending within said first member to retain said heating unit, heat-insulating means within said first member between said heating unit and said second member, a handle having an end socket seating the ends of said members and also having an axial bore,

the end portion of said second member within said handle being snugly embraced by said first member, said members being constructed beyond said handle to provide an air space about said second member within said first member and between the heating unit and said handle, said first member having openings to admit air to said space, means securing said members in the end socket of said handle, and current supply conductors extending through said handle and said second hollow member to said heating unit.

ERIC A. K. BURGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,154,415 Kuhn et a1 Sept. 21, 1915 1,491,389 Frykman Apr. 22, 1924 1,589,843 Delisle June 22, 1926 2,224,583 Abbott Dec. 10, 1940 2,257,376 Grey Sept. 80, 1941 2,274,408 Hampton et a1. Feb. 24, 1942 2,288,464 Kitchener June 30, 1942 2,493,876 I-Iutchison Jan. 10, 1950 

